Rail-joint.



j no. 757,316.

UNITED STATES Patented April 12, 1904.

CHARLES KEENER, OF GRAFTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,316, dated April 12, 1904. Application iedAugust 28,1903. semina. 171,132. (Nomerie.)

To ,all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. KEENER," a citizen of the United States, residing at Grafton, in the county of Taylor and State of West Virginia, have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in rail-joints; and it consists of improved meansV for joining the rails together, whereby the use of fish-plates, bolts, and nuts is done away with.

My invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same parts are indicated by the same letters throughout the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation of a rail-joint constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the joint shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 4 are details showing the two members of the joint.

A and B represent rails of the ordinary construction, except that one or both ends are provided with the locking arrangement, which will be hereinafter described. The ends A and B of the two rails are preferably thickcned, as shown, and the lianges are also preferably raised somewhat, as shown at A and B0. The end of the rail B is provided with twov tongues B2 and B3. The rail A is cut away, as shown at A2 and A3. The face b on the tongue B2 abuts against the face a of the rail A, while the inclined faces b' Z22 register with the inclined faces a audaz. Again, the inclined faces b3 and b4 of the Vtongue B3 engage the inclined faces a3 and at of the recess A3. The side faces b5 of the tongue B5 engage the side walls co5 of the recess A3, and the faces a and abut, as do also the faces a7 and 67. (See Fig. 2.) By havingthe lower tongue B3 and its recess A3 shorter than the tongue B2 and its recess A2 the rails may be more readily separated and put together than where the tongues are of equal length. Thus if t'he rails are not secured on the road-bed they may be slid apart a short distance and the rail B lifted out of engagement, or if the opposite ends of these rails are secured to the roadbed the abutting ends may be sprung up and caused, to disengage. To facilitate this unlocking when desired, the rail B is slightly recessed, as at 6, to allow a limited play of the interlocking parts of the rail A. The rails are secured on the ties C by vspikes D in the usual way.

It will be seen that the herein-described engagement of the two rails will hold each rail in place to prevent the rails from spreading apart without the necessity of fishplates. Moreover, the joint between the two rails may be made by prying up the ends of contiguous rails, as before stated, without the necessity of moving the entireV rail from the road.

It will be obvious that the rails may be made rights and lefts and have the locking arrangement provided at one end only of each, whereby the two rails may he inserted at any point in an ordinary track, the other ends of the rails being provided with bolts for lishplates, as with the ordinary construction, or, if desired, the rails might be made slightly longer than the standardrail and one end of each pair sawed off to the desired length in mending the track.

Having` thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. A rail-joint comprising two rails made rights and lefts, one rail having recesses with inclinedY faces, the other rail being provided with tongues having inclined faces registering with the faces of said recesses, substantially as described.

2. Thel combination with a rail provided with a recess having inclined upper walls and vertical side walls in the .base of one end thereof and a cut-away portion above said recess and provided with inclined faces, of a second rail having tongues adapted to pass into and fit snugly in said recess and into said cut-away portion, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a rail provided with a recess having inclined upper walls and vertical side walls in the base ofone end thereof and-a cut-away portion above said recess and provided with inclined faces, the said IOO recess having a less longitudinal length than the said cut-away portion, relative to the rail, of a second rail having tongues of unequal length, the lower being' the shorter, projecting into said recess, substantially as described.

4e. In a rail-joint, the combination with the rail A out away as at A2 and A3 and provided with inclined faces a, a2, co3, and and'vertical faces a, a5 a and a7, of a rail B provided with tongues B2 and B3 having inclined faces I Z2', 62, b3, b4, and vertical faces I), b5, b, and 67, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES F. KEENER. Witnesses:

H. MAGILL, R. S. KUNST. 

